It’s likely to be okay to let some fresh air in on a day that tops out at 50 degrees than if it was 20 degrees, says John Galeotafiore, CR’s associate director of product testing. You might also want to consider the temperature outside before you open the windows. A cold draft may fool your thermostat into thinking your home is much cooler than it actually is, making your heating system work harder and increasing your expense.

It’s probably best to not open a window that’s close to your thermostat, Chris says. If you do desire some fresh air, opening the windows for a few minutes a day likely won’t make a major change in your heating bill, assuming you’re just opening a window a few inches, says Chris Regan, an engineer who oversees the testing of air conditioning units at CR. It’s worth noting that opening a window will create an air leak in your home and cause your heating systems to work harder.īut will your heating bill be affected significantly by a window cracked open? We haven’t conducted tests on this, but here’s our experts’ personal take. And if you live close to an industrial plant or in a city with air pollution problems, you might not want to open your windows. If the outdoor air quality is poor-say, there’s smoke pollution-it’s probably better to wait until conditions improve to air out your home. But if you’ve already taken care to maintain good air quality in your home, you don’t have to do it, says Katherine Pruitt, the national senior director for policy at the American Lung Association.Īre there situations when you wouldn’t want to open your windows? So yes, periodically airing out your home by opening some windows for a short time during winter can feel rejuvenating. By opening one for as little as 5 minutes a day in winter, you can improve the air quality of your home by letting out stale air and decreasing the concentration of indoor air pollutants, says Heather Viola, DO, a primary care physician at Mount Sinai Doctors-Ansonia, a healthcare practice in New York City.Ĭooler air also has a soothing effect on our nasal lining, which can make us think we can breathe better, even in cases when there’s not an actual improvement in air quality, says Neil Bhattacharyya, MD, an ear, nose, and throat doctor at Mass Eye and Ear at Mass General Brigham, a Boston-based hospital and physician network. There are certainly benefits to having a window open. So should you open windows during winter?

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